Skip to main content

Oregon State Flag An official website of the State of Oregon »

Oregon.gov Homepage

The Oregon ELR Project

About Electronic Laboratory Reporting

Historically, communicable disease reporting to state and county health departments was paper-based, relying heavily on FAX, telephone and snail mail. Today's sophisticated laboratory information systems bring an opportunity to move toward more timely and efficient electronic laboratory reporting. ELR data are critical to Public Health disease surveillance programs and thus to population health.

The Oregon ELR Project provides a one-stop drop-off point for laboratories to submit reportable data using electronic data interchange. In this system, the Public Health Division functions as an electronic hub to accept, route, and process electronic HL7 messages containing lab and clinical data.View a graphic that describes Oregon ELR Data Flow (pdf).


ELR Legally Mandated for High-Volume Laboratories


COVID-19 ELR Reporting No Longer Required Effective June 30, 2023

  • Effective June 30,2023, COVID-19 test results should no longer be submitted via ELR.  

  • Pediatric deaths related to COVID-19 and cases of  MIS-C are to be reported using the online secure portal: www.healthoregon.org/howtoreport


Specifications

  • Oregon's HL7 2.5.1 ELR Implementation Guide (pdf). For a comprehensive guide on ELR message construction, visit HL7.org.
    • HL7 2.5.1 is the only acceptable standard for meeting Promoting Interoperability requirements.

  • We understand that sites without a Laboratory Information System or Electronic Health Records may not be prepared to submit HL7 data for reporting.  Please review the Oregon's CSV (Alternative Format) ELR Implementation Guide (pdf) and request approval to use this format from our onboarding team.
    • This template (last updated March 2024 to remove Ask on Order Entry Questions) may be used to help you construct your message. All columns are required to be present even if not populated and format requirement from the CSV implementation guide must be followed.

Tools and Standards

  • Logical Observation Identifier Names and Codes (LOINC®) for specific laboratory procedure names
  • Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED®) for descriptions of findings, specifically for organism names
  • Reportable Condition Mapping Tables (RCMT) for mapping between reportable conditions, LOINC test codes, and SNOMED result codes.

Additional Resources


Public Health Promoting Interoperability (aka, Meaningful Use)

ELR is a required Promoting Interoperability measure for eligible Hospitals and providers in Oregon. To meet requirements, laboratory data must be sent from an ONC certified Electronic Health Record System (EHR) or Laboratory Information Systems (LIS).Read more about the program.